D.C. police are looking for an inmate who escaped from the Department of Corrections (DOC) custody while at the Howard University Hospital on Tuesday.
Kenneth Philips, 22, escaped DOC staff by running away while at the hospital for medical treatment at about 8:30 a.m., according to a Metropolitan Police Department release. The hospital is located in the Shaw neighborhood.
In a statement, Howard University said their Department of Public Safety (DPS) received an alert at about 8:45 a.m. regarding a patient in DOC's custody who was "seen fleeing the hospital into the surrounding neighborhood."
"The safety of the Howard University community is the top priority of HUDPS. The department is supporting ongoing canvassing of the area and the current assessment of DPS, the Metropolitan Police Department and the Department of Corrections suggests that there is no active threat to the Howard University campus, HUH patients or staff," the university said in a statement.
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Philips was arrested in November 2021 for carjacking and burglary charges, according to police.
He was seen wearing a black shirt and red and blue underwear. Police described him as a Black male who stands 6 feet tall and weighs 210 pounds.
He was also seen boarding a Metrobus, according to the university's statement.
Earlier in the day, officials said he had been apprehended but later said that this was not the case.
